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That Roman dodecahedron theory everyone loves doesn't hold up in Gaul
I spent last month going through excavation reports from 3 years ago near Reims, France, where they found one of those Roman dodecahedrons in a sealed context. Everyone online keeps saying they were knitting tools or candle holders, but the one from Reims was buried with military gear and no textile remains anywhere near it. The soil samples there showed traces of lead and copper, not wool or wax. Has anyone else looked at the actual site reports instead of just the Wikipedia page?
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irismartinez2d ago
Ha, @aaronclark and I keep comparing this to how people just assume "old = simple" and slap a modern use onto everything without checking the dirt. It's like how everyone swears grandma's bread knife is "the best" but nobody stops to see if it was actually used for cutting bone.
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aaronclark2d ago
That sealed context at Reims is exactly what changed my mind. A buddy of mine who digs in Belgium said the same thing about one found near Namur that had iron staining but zero textile traces.
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diana201d ago
@irismartinez have you checked the lead isotope ratios on those Reims soil samples yourself?
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